US election 2016: Ex-New York mayor Michael Bloomberg rules out White House bid

Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he is no longer considering running for presidentReuters

Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is no longer considering running for president in the 2016 election only a month after he said he was in fact contemplating a bid for the White House.

In February, he said in an interview that the level of discourse and discussion on the campaign trail was "distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters."

The 73-year-old billionaire told The Financial Times he was "looking at all the options" and that American voters deserved "a lot better."

But in an article called "The Risk I Will Not Take" the former mayor ruled out any bid because the data showed he could not win in the general election.

"I believe I could win a number of diverse states—but not enough to win the 270 Electoral College votes necessary to win the presidency," Bloomberg said. He added that a three-way race would likely lead to the presidency being chosen by Congress due to a split in Electoral College votes.

"As the race stands now, with Republicans in charge of both Houses, there is a good chance that my candidacy could lead to the election of Donald Trump or Senator Ted Cruz," Bloomberg wrote. "That is not a risk I can take in good conscience."

However he did deliver some stinging criticism of the current political status quo.

"Wage stagnation at home and our declining influence abroad have Americans angry and frustrated. And yet Washington DC offers nothing but gridlock and partisan finger-pointing," he wrote. "Worse, the current presidential candidates are offering scapegoats instead of solutions, and they are promising results that they can't possibly deliver. Rather than explaining how they will break the fever of partisanship that is crippling Washington, they are doubling down on dysfunction."

Bloomberg also did not hold back criticisms for candidates in both parties.

He called out Democrats for attacking "policies that spurred growth and opportunity under President Bill Clinton—support for trade, charter schools, deficit reduction and the financial sector." He then lashed out at the leading GOP candidates for attacking "policies that spurred growth and opportunity under President Ronald Reagan, including immigration reform, compromise on taxes and entitlement reform, and support for bipartisan budgets."

He said Trump was running "the most divisive and demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people's prejudices and fears." Bloomberg criticised Trump's plan to bar Muslims from entering the US and to deport millions of undocumented immigrants, as well as "feigning ignorance of white supremacists". Cruz was also criticised for being equally as extreme.

"We cannot 'make America great again by turning our backs on the values that made us the world's greatest nation in the first place," Bloomberg continued. "I love our country too much to play a role in electing a candidate who would weaken our unity and darken our future -- and so I will not enter the race for president of the United States." Despite his criticisms of the GOP, he added he was not ready to endorse any candidate.